A Heathen Journey

Read Them

Rune Casting

The first recorded rune reading was described by the Roman chronicler Tacitus almost 2000 years ago. He described small staves of wood being cut from an apple tree and on them were scored the peculiar symbols of the runes. These were then gathered together and cast onto a white cloth while those gathered would focus their attention an a particular question.

The runes were then interpreted by looking at those that landed face upwards starting with the one that had landed furthest away as being the most significant. This method is still used to this day by many people, though over the years many other ways of reading them have developed ranging from the simple to the very complex. In this page we will show you how you can start to use the runes for your own development starting with some very simple cast’s.

The most simple of rune readings is done by pulling one rune out of the bag which gives the overall essence of the situation. This can be done two ways, either focus your mind on a particular question or subject whilst selecting the rune. The rune chosen will give an insight into that situation. Or keep a blank mind whilst selecting the rune, not thinking about anything in particular. This will give you an indication of the overall direction your life at the that moment and how the present will manifest into the future.

For instance, somebody has offered me a new job opportunity and I am in two minds about whether to follow it up. So I select a rune while focusing on the opportunity.

The rune I have pulled out is Raidho, as this rune is very much much about the natural order of things and the correct actions in our lives, it is an opportunity I should take. Note, it is not saying I will be fabulously successful or it will make me loads of money. The job may not be that good in itself but I should take it because it will take me in a direction that is correct for me and will lead on to better things. Although the runes can be very blunt they also have a wonderful subtlety and show things that we cannot be aware of at the time of the question.

A slightly more complex and probably the most popular of all rune spreads is the three rune spread. Three runes are drawn one at a time and placed in a straight row.

Traditionally the first rune represents the past, the second the present and the third the future. However that over simplifies things a bit. To the seasoned Vitki it appears slightly differently, as energy is in a state of flux and continually changing he sees it as how the past energies have developed into the present situation and how they will now develop into the future. The three runes being ever intertwined and one situation flowing into another. So in reality this spreads shows us how our past has developed into the present and how things will develop into the future; all things being equal.

I say all things being equal, because as with all things in life we have an element of free will however, most people will choose to ignore it and go with the flow.

If we apply the spread above to a question about our career we can see that we have had plenty of potential around us for some time (Ingwaz), but the time was not right for it to be realised. However the flow of the Wyrd is now moving to our benefit (Perdhro) so it is a time to push forward and see the seeds (potential) we have sown in the past start to come to fruition. which they will as the harvest rune (Jera) is shown in the outcome.

This spread is easily expanded to give us more information by adding two runes to the cast to give us five in all. We then read them as Past – Recent Past – Present – Near Future – Future, remember the middle rune always represents the “Now” which gives us the ability to use as many runes as we like to develop a greater insight into the reading.

Remember there is no ‘Correct’ way to cast the runes, they are a shamanistic tool and as such rely on the instinctive rather than the logical. If the way you read them works for you, then that is the right way for you. Above all be inventive let your intuition drive you, you may just surprise yourself.